Agenda item

UPDATE FROM LICENSING OFFICERS CONCERNING THE LOCATION OF TABLES AND CHAIRS WITH RESPECT TO AL FRESCO DINING

A list of  approved tables and chairs licences that have been issued to premises in Beckenham will be provided prior to the meeting.

 

Minutes:

Mr Toby Smith (Head of Street Enforcement) and Marieke Brown (Market and Street Trading Enforcement Officer) attended the meeting to provide an update and to answer any related questions. A written report concerning the ‘Use of Footways in Beckenham’ had been drafted by Mr Smith, and Ms Brown had provided a list of businesses in the high street that had been issued with licences to use A-Boards or to place tables and chairs in the footway for al fresco dining.

 

The Group noted that A-Boards were used to promote the services of the business. The A-Boards should be placed in such a way that they did not block the footway, and could not be placed in the Highway. A business could also apply to the Council for a licence to place tables and chairs on the footway. If tables and chairs were placed on the footway without a licence, then legal action could be taken against the business. Licences were not required for private forecourts.

 

Mr Nick Goy mentioned problems relating to sufficient pavement space when children and young people were coming out of school.  Mr Smith informed the Group that an application to place tables and chairs in the footway would not be granted as a matter of course. The issuing of the licence would be subject to an inspection.

 

LBB would seek spare width on the pavement of between 1.5m to 2m to allow the public to walk through unhindered. It would normally be a condition that the tables and chairs would be barricaded. Ms Brown informed the Group that the cost of a licence for a business was £2050.00 per annum, or £1025.00 for six months. 

 

Mr Goy produced 4 photos of businesses that he felt may be undertaken al fresco dining outside of the legal parameters. He asked if the relevant distances were displayed on the Council website. They were not displayed currently. Mr Goy asked if the information concerning the measurements could be displayed on the Council website. Mr Smith stated that this was something that he would need to investigate. In the meantime he suggested that if there were any issues, members of the Group could email him directly. 

 

Councillor Sarah Philips asked if incorporated into the conditions would be a requirement to use ashtrays for smokers, and to ensure that the area was cleaned subsequently. Ms Brown confirmed that this was normally part of the conditions for the licence. The Environment Portfolio Holder advised that enforcement action could be taken against a person observed dropping cigarettes in public places instead of disposing of them in the correct manner.

 

The Chairman wondered what the hours were with respect to street cleaning and asked if this could be clarified. Mr Smith stated that Ward Security could be asked to undertake extra patrols in designated areas if required. With respect to complaints and enforcement action, businesses would be contacted first and spoken to before any enforcement action was considered. The Council had to take reasonable steps and act in a manner that was proportional.

 

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